The city of Long Beach has agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a man who spent nearly four decades in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of a 1982 Long Beach murder.
Samuel Bonner, now 63, was 20 years old when police arrested him in connection with the Nov. 11, 1982, shooting death of 23-year-old Leonard Polk, a flight attendant living in Long Beach, according to court records.
In 2019, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal vacated his conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct. Lowenthal ordered his release at the time and later declared Bonner factually innocent.
Bonner filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Los Angeles County and the city of Long Beach alleging, in part, that a Long Beach police detective gave false testimony that prevented his case from getting dismissed.
Bonner was considered a suspect in the murder because he had given a ride to alleged co-conspirator Watson Allison from Central Long Beach to the Rose Park neighborhood to meet with Polk, according to court records.